CLEVELAND (AP) — Larry Hughes walked off the practice floor Saturday dripping with sweat and itching to play.

He’ll get his chance in Game 7.

Cleveland’s guard, who returned to the club Friday after missing three games in the Detroit series following the death of his younger brother, is expected to play in Sunday’s decisive game at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Hughes dressed for Game 6 but didn’t see any action in Cleveland’s 84-82 loss. However, Hughes’ presence was an emotional lift for the Cavs, who traveled to St. Louis to attend Justin Hughes’ funeral Tuesday.

Now, Hughes is hoping to give his team a boost on the court.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was named to the All-NBA First Team today by the NBA. He becomes the youngest player in NBA history to earn All-NBA first team honors and the second player in franchise history to be named to the All-NBA First team. James led all players in All-NBA first place votes (116) and total points (610).

During the 2005-06 season, James became just the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists for an entire season (31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists). He ranked third in the league in scoring, 12th in assists per game and 15th in steals per game (1.56). He recorded five triple-doubles during the season (second best in the league) and scored 30 or more points in 49 games.

This season, James was voted MVP of the 2006 NBA All-Star Game after being named an All-Star starter for the second consecutive season. He finished second behind Steve Nash in the NBA MVP voting with 688 total points. He earned Eastern Conference Player of the Month awards in November and March and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on five occasions, becoming the first player in NBA history to win the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award in three consecutive weeks (for weeks ending March 20, March 27 and April 2).

At the age of 21 years, 138 days, James is the youngest player in NBA history to be named to the All-NBA First Team. Max Zaslofsky was 21 years, five months old when he was named to the All-NBA First Team as a rookie in the 1946-47 season.

James joins Mark Price as the only Cavaliers to earn All-NBA first team honors. Price was named to the All-NBA First Team following the 1992-93 season. James was an All-NBA Second Team selection last season. James is joined on the All-NBA First Team by Phoenix’s Steve Nash, Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant, Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki and Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal.

The 126-member voting panel of writers and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada consisted of national media members and members from each of the league’s 30 teams who regularly cover the NBA. The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates took a solemn break from their playoff series Tuesday to attend the funeral of the 20-year-old brother of guard Larry Hughes.

The Cavaliers flew to St. Louis after beating the Detroit Pistons 74-72 Monday night to even the best-of-seven second-round playoff series at 2-2. Hughes has missed the past two games — both wins — to be with his family following Justin Hughes’ death last week.

Hundreds of people attended the service for Justin Hughes, who was born with a heart defect and had a transplant in 1997. The brothers were close — Larry Hughes chose to play his lone season of college basketball, in 1997-98, at Saint Louis University in part to stay near his brother.

In a program for the funeral service, the elder Hughes wrote a tribute to his brother: “I am my brother’s keeper. My life is his world. His life is my everything.”

The Cavaliers arrived together by bus at the New Sunnymount Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. Most of the team sat in the first few rows of the church, and during his sermon, the Rev. N.E. Owens thanked them for their support.

The team then traveled to suburban Detroit for Game 5 on Wednesday night. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said Tuesday afternoon that there was no timetable for Hughes’ return.

Cavaliers guard Flip Murray said players hugged Larry Hughes and his mother at the service.

“We went there to show our condolences and wish the best for him and his family,” Murray said at the team’s hotel.

Guard Damon Jones added: “It’s a tough situation, but it was good for us to be there for him and his family.”

In addition to missing the two playoff games, Larry Hughes missed 45 regular-season games with a finger injury.

The Cavaliers have worn black bands on the left shoulders of their uniforms as a memorial to Justin Hughes, who attended a few games in Cleveland this season. James and Jones wore sweat bands with Larry Hughes’ No. 32 as well.

The wildly entertaining first round series between the Cavs and Wiz came to an end Friday. Once again, finishing in thrilling OT fashion. Lebron had made winning shots in Games 3 and 5, and it was obvious who was going to take the final shot. But Lebron got double-teamed, and the ball swung to the hardly-used Damon Jones, who hit the perfect jumper from the baseline.

The series was true battle between two superstars: Lebron and Gilbert, but in the end it was too much Lebron. Lebron also won the mental game when he trash-talked with Gilbert with 15 seconds remaining, and distracting him enough to miss both free throws!

Probably the most entertaining and exciting first round series so far! Props to Arenas and Wiz for putting up such a good fight. But in the end, it was too much Lebron…

Lebron’s Line: 53 mins, 32 pts (15-25), 7 Rebs, 7 Assists, distracting Gilbert Arenas at the foul line — priceless

Cleveland 114, Washington 113, OT

By JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer May 6, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) — LeBron James played 53 minutes. Damon Jones played 14 seconds.

James provided the gamesmanship. Jones provided the game-winner.

That combination has the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.

James scored 32 points, made two key blocks, survived a nasty collision with Brendan Haywood, and — perhaps, most importantly — did some talking to Gilbert Arenas at the free throw line late in overtime. Arenas missed both attempts, setting up Jones’ 17-foot baseline jumper with 4.8 seconds remaining in the Cavaliers’ 114-113 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

“Damon Jones, self-proclaimed ‘Best Shooter in the Universe,’ hit a dagger,” James said.

The Cavaliers won the series 4-2, their first series win since 1993, when James was 8 years old. They also won two road games in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. They will have little time to celebrate before opening the second round at Detroit on Sunday.

“This is probably one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long time,” James said. “I didn’t want to come here and just be happy to be in the playoffs.”

James made the winning shots in Games 3 and 5 in a series that included three one-point Cleveland victories, including the last two in overtime, but it was Jones’ turn in the spotlight for the finale. Marginalized by the return of Larry Hughes and the emergence of Flip Murray, Jones had been a bit player in the series. He had scored only three points and played less than 24 total minutes.

But one thing Jones can do is shoot. He was put in the game as an alternative in case James couldn’t get a decent shot. With James drawing a double-team, Jones got the ball and took advantage.

“I was going to either be the hero or the goat,” Jones said. “Tonight I was the hero so I’m glad. That’s why I’m smiling.”

Keeping with the knife-edge emotion of the series, Game 6 was tense and tight once the Cavaliers overcame the Wizards’ 14-point first-quarter lead. For 24 minutes — from early in the second quarter to early in the fourth — neither team led by more than five points.

The Wizards then blew a seven-point led with 4:48 to play in regulation and needed Arenas’ 30-footer with 2.3 seconds to play to send the game to overtime. Arenas, whose duels with James made the series compelling, finished with 36 points — but he missed the two vital free throws with his team leading by one with 15 seconds remaining in overtime. James did his best to distract Arenas by saying something between the two attempts.

“I told him if he missed both of those free throws, the game was over,” James said.

Arenas’ account was a little different. He said James told him: “If you miss this, you know who’s hitting the game-winner.”

Whatever. The point is that Arenas, who so badly wanted to match James’ heroics, missed when it mattered most.

“It is hard to swallow,” Arenas said. “You feel you let your team down. … I missed ‘em. An 80-percent free-throw shooter and you miss two. One of them nights. The basketball gods wasn’t with us in this series. We lose three games on game-winning shots.”

James shot 15-for-25 and had seven rebounds, seven assists and five turnovers. Donyell Marshall scored a season-high 28 points, and Murray had 21 for the Cavaliers.

Antonio Daniels scored 22 for the Wizards. Caron Butler had 18 points and 20 rebounds. Antawn Jamison was in foul trouble much of the night and finished with 15 points.

Coach Eddie Jordan has often said the Wizards can handle adversity but not prosperity — they regularly overcome daunting deficits but often blow big leads. Their 24-10 edge was built on 9-for-12 shooting, but the Cavaliers needed only six minutes to tie the game in a run highlighted by James’ block on Arenas.

The sequence began when Arenas stole a pass near midcourt and drove for a dunk, but James challenged the shot and both players crashed to the floor. When no foul was called, Jordan screamed and kicked the ball. He and Arenas were assessed technicals, and Jordan was restrained by Daniels and two assistant coaches.

James had another run-in in the fourth quarter, when the side of his head collided with the upper body of Haywood with 9:59 to play. Haywood was called for a foul but not a flagrant one — there appeared to be nothing malicious about the contact — yet James was on his hands and knees for about a half-minute while Cleveland called timeout.

James missed both free throws — amazingly, his first attempts of the game — and committed a turnover on Cleveland’s next possession.

He eventually recovered. James sprawled on the floor to retrieve a rebound with 1:10 to play. James also blocked Jamison’s layup from behind, setting up a fast break that led to a pair of free throws that gave the Cavaliers their first lead of the fourth quarter.

In the extra period, Butler made two free throws with 30 seconds left to give the Wizards a one-point lead. The Cavaliers were working to try to retake the lead when Eric Snow launched a crosscourt pass that flew over the head of Murray and over Washington’s bench.

Arenas then missed the free throws before Jones — who has played for 10 teams in eight seasons — came through.

“It was definitely frustrating for a guy who played big minutes a year ago and to come into a situation where you’re not playing as much,” Jones said. “But I’m a professional, and coming into this situation, I came here for a reason and that was to win basketball games.”

That’s just what he did.

Notes

The Cavaliers had never won a Game 6, going 0-4 all-time until Friday. … Butler mistakenly took the free throw after the flagrant foul involving Haywood, so Haywood had to retake the free throw later in the quarter. … The Cavaliers have won seven consecutive one-point games. … James has set at least 15 franchise records in the series. Perhaps the most telling is his 182 total points through five games, easily surpassing Brad Daugherty’s mark of 158 set over seven games in the 1992 Eastern Conference finals.

It was a see-saw battle between two All-Stars. Lebron would score, but Gilbert would fire right back. It came down to OT, with the Cavs down by one…

James tiptoed along the baseline and muscled through traffic for the layup with 0.9 seconds left in overtime, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a 121-120 victory over the Washington Wizards and a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series

Arenas scored 44 points, but James outdueled him with 45 points. The last time two players scored 40 points in a playoff game was Game 1 of the 2001 finals when Allen Iverson had 48 and Shaquille O’Neal had 44 in the 76ers’ 107-101 overtime victory.

Lebron’s Line: 45 Pts (14-23), 7 Rebs, 6 Assists

Cleveland 121, Washington 120, OT

By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer May 4, 2006

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James now has his signature shot. Until further notice, “The Layup” defines his growing greatness.

James tiptoed along the baseline and muscled through traffic for the layup with 0.9 seconds left in overtime, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a 121-120 victory over the Washington Wizards and a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night.

With the Cavs down by one, James, who finished with 45 points, grabbed an inbounds pass from Larry Hughes with 3 seconds to go. Nearly trapped in the corner, he delicately slid past Antawn Jamison and knifed inside.

As Michael Ruffin, Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood collapsed around him, James rose in the lane and softly dropped in his game-winning layup, sending a sellout crowd of 20,562 into a frenzy.

“I had enough room on the baseline,” said James, who added seven rebounds and six assists. “If I wore an 18 or 19 size shoe, I wouldn’t have made it. But I wear a 16 and was able to tightrope that baseline to get a layup.”

Arenas, who matched James bucket for bucket and had 44 points, was way off with a desperation heave at the buzzer. The Wizards still had two timeouts left, but failed to call one after James’ basket.

The best-of-seven series, which has been bogged down by whining from both teams and some questionable officiating, returns to Washington for Game 6 on Friday night.

“If we can go to Washington and close it out, it will be one of my biggest basketball thrills,” James said.

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said the plan was not to put James on the line. If he was going to win it, he would have to earn it.

“He made something out of nothing which is what great players do,” Jordan said. “A lot of normal guys miss that.”

Larry Hughes scored 24 points, Eric Snow had 18, including six in overtime, and Flip Murray added 12 for the Cavaliers, who blew a seven-point lead late in regulation and nearly gave up their home-court advantage for the second time in the series.

Jamison had 32 points, Caron Butler 20 and Antonio Daniels 13 for the Wizards, who stole a Game 5 at Chicago in the first round last year in the playoffs and nearly did it again.

James, who fouled out Jared Jeffries late in regulation, gave Butler his sixth personal foul with 25 seconds left. James made both free throws — he went 17-for-18 from the line — to give the Cavaliers a 119-118 lead.

But Arenas, who scored eight points in the overtime, was fouled on a drive to the hoop by Murray and made two free throws with 3.6 seconds left, setting up James’ final shot.

Cleveland’s star, who won Game 3 with a last-second drive, had missed a jumper at the end of regulation that would have won it, but he made sure he was closer to the basket for this attempt, a layup that moves to the top of his already superlative-laden resume.

“We thought we did a great job cutting off that baseline,” Arenas said. “He made an athletic move. He hit his first game-winner in the playoffs.”

Arenas paused, then corrected himself.

“Second,” he said.

It was the kind of play Michael Jordan used to make, and the kind James has been delivering for most of his basketball life.

“The last play,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said, shaking his head. “What an aggressive drive. He knew we needed the basket. They ran three guys at him and he found a way to get to the rim and score the basket.”

The Cavaliers seemed to have Game 5 wrapped up, leading 107-100 when James, who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, made two free throws with 1:18 left.

But Daniels completed a three-point play and Butler forced a turnover before scoring twice underneath as Washington fought back to tie it 107-all on Butler’s layup with 7.5 seconds remaining.

James spent the final 6:53 of the third quarter sitting angrily on the bench after picking up his fourth foul. Referee Joe Forte called a block on James, who tried to slide in front of Arenas on a drive.

James bounced off the floor to argue and then walked to the Cavs bench palming the ball and looking as if he might take it home with him. He stood during his first minute of his seclusion cheering for the Cavs, who were down 64-63 when he left but outscored the Wizards 22-17 to take an 85-81 lead into the fourth.

The Cavaliers shot 61 percent from the field in the first half but only led 52-51.

Arenas scored 20 points in the first 16 minutes. However, the Cavaliers adjusted and held him without a field goal over the final 8:22 after they began running a second defender at the guard as soon as he touched the ball.

James divulged part of Cleveland’s game plan before tipoff, saying he was going to get the ball early to Hughes, who came in averaging just 10.3 points in the playoffs. James made good on the promise as Hughes scored 11 points in the opening quarter.

He also got leveled on a drive by Wizards backup center Etan Thomas, who was called for a flagrant 1 foul and set off a heated discussion between the teams.

There was the usual beef with the officials, too, as each side objected to calls they felt should go the other way.

Before the game, James joked that he wasn’t getting any preferential treatment from officials.

“I’m supposed to be the kid in this league,” he said. “But I’m treated like a grown man.”

The last time two players scored 40 points in a playoff game was Game 1 of the 2001 finals when Allen Iverson of Philadelphia had 48 and Shaquille O’Neal of the Lakers had 44 in the 76ers’ 107-101 overtime victory.

Notes

NBA commissioner David Stern has enjoyed being a witness to James’ first playoffs. “Everyone knows he’s great,” he said. “Now’s a chance to see how good the team is — the contribution he makes to his team. It’s sort of a rite of passage in the world of basketball, and that’s fun to watch.” … Cavs F Luke Jackson will undergo his second back operation in less than two years on Thursday to repair a herniated disc. Jackson, the 10th overall pick in the 2004 draft, has played in just 46 games in his first two NBA seasons because of injuries.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Dressed down in black, LeBron James left practice on Tuesday sporting a baseball cap stitched with a jeweled royal crown and wearing one of those popular “Witness” T-shirts.

Maybe he should hand a few out to his teammates.

Because the Cavaliers have been onlookers for much of the past two weeks.

In his first NBA playoffs, James has carried Cleveland’s scoring load — alone.

“We haven’t been able to give him enough help,” center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said, “especially at the end of the games.”a

James is averaging 34.3 points for the Cavaliers, who are tied 2-2 with the Washington Wizards heading into Game 5 of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

James’ scoring average, which is nearly three points higher than during the regular season, is more than the next three Cavs, Ilgauskas (11.8 points), Drew Gooden (11.3) and Larry Hughes (10.3), combined.

That imbalance aside, what’s more troubling for the Cavaliers is that when James isn’t hitting his shots or dominating, none of Cleveland’s other players — with the exception of Game 1 — has done stepped up enough.

Gooden (24 points in a Game 2 loss) is the only player other than James to score more than 20 points in a game. The Wizards, meanwhile, can usually count on their “Big 3″ of Gilbert Arenas (31.0), Caron Butler (18.3) and Antawn Jamison (17.0) for points.

But despite being alone atop the stat sheet, James isn’t worried about his teammates letting him down.

“Never. I feel like they’ll come through for me,” he said. “They’ve been there for me all year. We’re tied 2-2, so we’re in a comfortable spot — tied 2-2 with a team coming to our house. We feel awesome.”

Cleveland would feel a whole lot better if it hadn’t blown a 13-point lead in the third quarter and lost Game 4. The Cavaliers appeared to have things under control at halftime, building an 11-point lead behind 25 points from James.

Curiously, James was no factor in the third quarter. He missed his only three shots and spent most of the period either fighting off double teams or deferring to Larry Hughes, Flip Murray and Eric Snow to run Cleveland’s offense.

James may have been slowed by a fear of fouling out. He was whistled for four offensive fouls, but insists nothing can stop him completely.

“I’ll never change my aggressiveness,” he said. “I get six fouls and if that means I’m going to get six offensive fouls by me going to the hole, then it’s going to have to happen. I will not change my game.”

By the time James got back into the flow in Game 4, the Wizards were in control.

For whatever reason, Cavs coach Mike Brown never adjusted to Washington’s defense in the third. If James was struggling from the outside and being forced to one side of the floor by the Wizards, a simple solution would have been to post him up near the basket, where the 6-foot-8, 245-pound James is virtually unstoppable.

“A lot of that was my fault,” Brown said, falling on a sword like the one in the Cavaliers’ logo. “I got too caught up in the referees. I’ll take the blame on that. I didn’t put him down there. It’s my fault.”

While commendable, Brown’s admission that he was distracted by the officiating could be seen as another victory for Washington coach Eddie Jordan, who complained that James benefited from some favorable calls in Game 3 and spent the days leading into Game 4 lobbying in the media.

Jordan’s smartest move, though, may have been when he told his players at halftime of Game 4, to “go out and have fun” in the second half. Instead of running set plays, Jordan allowed the Wizards to freelance.

It worked once, and Jordan could try it again.

“It’s nothing I’m going to shy away from,” he said. “I think it was good for us. I think it can be good for us going into tomorrow’s game, because I think it adds another dimension to our offense.”

In this series, just as it was during the regular season, Washington’s main offensive threat has been Arenas, who scored 28 of his 34 points after halftime in Game 4. Arenas has been best down the stretch, scoring 59 of his 124 points in the fourth.

“In the fourth quarter, he does what he does best, he closes the game out,” Butler said. “That’s what stars do.”

And in this series, matching two rising Eastern Conference teams, the team’s respective stars — Arenas and James — have taken turns taking over.

Despite being a two-time All-Star and averaging 29.3 points per game, Arenas, and everyone else for that matter, has received second billing to James. But Arenas is making it known that there’s room for more than one superstar on this stage.

“I think Gilbert’s saying the right things — ‘We are all witnesses,”‘ said Jordan, referring to the catchphrase used in James’ sneaker ads. “It’s LeBron’s series, and we’re on TV because of LeBron, and it’s a good thing. It gives us a little bit of an edge. But we’re trying to win games, we’re not trying to showcase a guy.”

It was a tale of two stories. In the first half, James set franchise playoff records for points in a quarter (18) and half (25), while Arenas was struggling, and Cleveland was up 57-46. Then, LeBron James suddenly, stunningly, became quiet. Gilbert Arenas recovered from an awful start to lead Washington’s comeback for a 106-96 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, tying the first-round series at 2-2.

Lebron was called for 4 offensive fouls! After one in the fourth quarter, he put his palms up and mouthed, “What did I do?” His coach, Mike Brown, crumpled a paper cup and threw it to the ground.

“I’ve been called for more offensive fouls in this series than all 82 games combined, probably,” James said. “I don’t know if they’re trying to take my aggressiveness away, make me play outside.”

It’s total B.S., the refs caved in to pressure from Wizards’ lobbying after Game 3. They took away his inside game because he was constantly called for offensive foul on every flop. Game 5 is Wednesday.

Lebron’s Line: 38 Pts (13-23), 6 Rebs, 5 Assists

Washington 106, Cleveland 96

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hold on, LeBron. Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards aren’t quite ready to pack it in.

With LeBron James suddenly, stunningly, quiet after a tremendous first half Sunday night, Arenas recovered from an awful start to lead Washington’s comeback for a 106-96 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, tying the first-round series at 2-2.

“Oh, man, that was night and day, wasn’t it?” Arenas said after putting behind a six-point, 1-for-9 first half to finish with 34 points — 20 in the fourth quarter.

So much attention during this series has been focused on James’ NBA postseason debut, leaving Arenas feeling a tad overshadowed. He is, after all, a two-time All-Star who finished fourth in the league in scoring this season.

“This is LeBron’s show, you know. We’re just all witnesses,” Arenas said with a broad smile, mimicking a catch phrase used in James’ shoe ads.

At halftime, everything looked quite good for James and Co. and rather bleak for the Wizards. James set franchise playoff records for points in a quarter (18) and half (25), Arenas was struggling, and Cleveland was up 57-46. Another half anything close to that, and Cleveland would head home for Wednesday’s Game 5 with a 3-1 edge.

But two key things happened in Washington’s locker room.

First, the always-quirky Arenas changed his jersey, shorts, shoes and tights, saying what he was wearing had brought bad luck. Then — and, quite likely, more importantly — Wizards coach Eddie Jordan told his players he’d deviate from his highly regimented Princeton offense and wouldn’t dictate plays.

“That’s all we said: Just loosen up, got out and have some fun, I’m not going to call plays,” Jordan said.

It worked, of course, but there was much more to it than that, as Washington outscored Cleveland 60-39 after the break. For one thing, James was nowhere to be found at times in the second half. He took only three shots in the third quarter, missed all, and wound up with 38 points.

James finished with six rebounds and five assists, but he also had seven turnovers, including four offensive fouls. After one in the fourth quarter, he put his palms up and mouthed, “What did I do?” His coach, Mike Brown, crumpled a paper cup and threw it to the ground.

“I’ve been called for more offensive fouls in this series than all 82 games combined, probably,” James said. “I don’t know if they’re trying to take my aggressiveness away, make me play outside.”

During Saturday’s off-day, it was Jordan who spoke about the referees, saying he thought James was getting preferential treatment.

“Whatever they said, it obviously worked,” Brown said, noting that Arenas took 17 free throws, James seven.

Still, in crunch time, as Washington was padding its lead and using smaller, quicker players to guard James, the 21-year-old star wasn’t taking Cleveland’s shots. Nope, it was the likes of Donyell Marshall, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Damon Jones who were getting touches. Flip Murray wound up scoring 19, and the only other Cavaliers player in double figures was Ilgauskas with 13.

“If I’m double-teamed, I’m going to give the ball up,” James said.

Arenas got going a bit with eight points in the third quarter, as Washington whittled a 13-point deficit. He was fouled on a drive to the basket with 0.4 seconds left in that period, and with chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” ringing off the rafters, he made both free throws to tie the game at 72.

That figured to set up Bron-Bron vs. Gil, Part II, after their down-the-stretch duel in Game 3. In that one Friday, James hit the go-ahead shot with 5.7 seconds left in the game to finish off his 41-point performance, before Arenas — who scored half of his 34 in the fourth quarter — missed an open 3-pointer that would have won it.

On Sunday, James opened Sunday’s fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, his sixth of the game, but Arenas answered from beyond the arc. Antawn Jamison tacked on another 3 for Washington, giving the hosts their first lead since early in the second quarter, and Arenas added a long jumper to make it 80-76.

Just as in Washington’s Game 2 victory, Arenas got plenty of help from his top sidekicks, Jamison and Caron Butler. Jamison had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Butler added 21 points — 14 in the second half — and some tough defense on James.

James began 6-for-7 from the field — 4-for-4 on 3s — and scored 15 of the Cavaliers’ 16 points in one first-half stretch.

That’s when Jordan ripped up his script, in part because former Wizards guard Larry Hughes was telling his Cleveland teammates what plays were on the way.

“Coach said, ‘Throw away the plays,”‘ Arenas said. “‘Throw away the plays?’ All right. That’s like playing outside.”

Notes

The Cavaliers watched the end of the Suns-Lakers overtime game on a big-screen TV in the visiting locker room. When Kobe Bryant hit the winning shot, there were shouts of “Show-Be!” and “Kobe Jordan!”. … Jordan hasn’t heard from the NBA about his comments Saturday that James should have been called for traveling on his winning shot in Game 3, and that James is getting calls Arenas isn’t.

WASHINGTON (AP) — LeBron James drove around Antonio Daniels, collided with Michael Ruffin and banked in a 4-footer on the way down with 5.7 seconds left.

Chalk up another milestone for the emerging legend: He made his first game-winning shot in the playoffs.

James scored a franchise playoff-record 41 points Friday night, including two tough shots in the paint in the final minute. In a thrilling one-on-one fourth-quarter duel between two young stars, James had the final say over Gilbert Arenas in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 97-96 victory over the Washington Wizards.

“We are two All-Stars,” James said. “We don’t want our teams to lose the game. It was unfortunate that one team had to lose, but I am happy I was on the winning side. It was a great performance by myself and Gilbert.”

James made 16 of 28 shots and had five rebounds and three assists. Arenas scored 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter — making all but one of the Wizards’ field goals in the period — but he missed an open 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game.

“It went in and came out. You’re going to miss more than you make in your career,” Arenas said. “I missed that one, but I’m going to have more opportunities to make them. … I thought it was going in. It was there, just a little off. It just wasn’t our day. We fought all 48 minutes of this basketball game and we deserved this win.”

The Cavaliers lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Washington.

Larry Hughes, who had been struggling all series, scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 4:57 to play.

But the Cavaliers were all about James, who played all but 23 seconds. His teammates were a combined 19-for-57 from the field. The Wizards mixed up their defenses, sometimes showing double-teams and threats of double-teams, especially in the second half, but James couldn’t be stopped at the end when everyone in the building knew he would take the shots.

He gave the Cavaliers the lead with 31 seconds remaining by driving to the paint against Jared Jeffries. Jeffries appeared to tie James up, but James recovered and put in the layup.

Arenas, serenaded by chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” in the fourth quarter, responded by driving the paint to draw a blocking foul on James while making the layup. Arenas hit the free throw for a three-point play, giving the Wizards a 96-95 lead with 23 seconds to go — but giving James time to win it.

“I said I wouldn’t have two bad games in a row,” said James, who had 10 turnovers and shot 7-for-25 in the Game 2 loss. “I watched Game 2 over and over, and I saw the adjustment they made on me from Game 1 to Game 2. Me being the player I am, I had to counterattack, and I was able to do that.”

James wouldn’t have been in position to win the game were it not for two key defensive plays. Donyell Marshall blocked Ruffin’s layup, then was fouled at the other end and made both free throws to tie it at 93 with 51 seconds remaining. On the Wizards’ next possession, Flip Murray jumped to intercept Daniels’ pass for a steal.

Caron Butler had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Antawn Jamison scored 14 points — but only two in the second half — for the Wizards, who shot 39 percent in the second half after making 55 percent in the first.

“It hurts,” Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. “You have to let it seep out of you as the night goes along, and tomorrow morning you go back to work for the game on Sunday.”

The game began with a blood-pumping, up-and-down pace missing from the first two games, although James was curiously a non-factor for much of the first quarter. The Cavaliers instead tried to feed the ball inside to Ilgauskas, who made a long hook for the game’s first basket and didn’t have another field goal until the second quarter.

A 15-4 run gave the Wizards a 26-15 lead, and coach Mike Brown decided he’d seen enough. He called timeout, and the message was clear: James needed the ball. He was the focus of the next three possessions, but only one was successful. He drove by Butler for a dunk, was called for an illegal dribble and missed a jump shot.

James, who had a triple-double in Game 1, didn’t get his first assist until 2:21 to go in the half, and the Wizards led by 14 before James led a late rally before the break. An 8-2 run cut Washington’s lead to 58-50 at the half.

The Wizards went cold in the third quarter, making six of 18 shots. James made two baskets and assisted on the other in a 6-0 run that tied the score at 67, and the teams went to the fourth tied at 71.

The rest of the game, it was Arenas vs. James. The Wizards made James work hard for his game-winner, but not hard enough.

“Jared was there. Mike Ruffin was there. And he made a tough shot,” Butler said. “That’s the type of shot you want him to take. Tonight he was converting a lot of those.”

Game notes

How big is the hype surrounding James? The Wizards issued a credential to a reporter from lebronjames.com, giving him a seat between The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer and USA Today. … Pregame mystery in the Wizards locker room: Someone wrote “The Hater” in block letters on the nameplate above rookie Andray Blatche’s locker. “I don’t know who did it — probably Gil,” Blatche said. But Arenas said there was no way he could be the culprit. “I have bad penmanship,” he said.

The Washington Wizards threw Lebron off his game, and evened up the series Angry at allowing LeBron James to dominate them with a triple-double in Game 1, the Wizards roughed up Cleveland’s superstar and downed the Cavaliers 89-84 Tuesday night to tie their Eastern Conference series at a game apiece. Gilbert Arenas scored 30 points, Antawn Jamison added 21 and Caron Butler was the primary defender on James, who wasn’t the same after he got fouled hard by center Brendan Haywood in the first quarter.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Washington Wizards got mad, then got even.

Angry at allowing LeBron James to dominate them with a triple-double in Game 1, the Wizards roughed up Cleveland’s superstar and downed the Cavaliers 89-84 Tuesday night to tie their Eastern Conference series at a game apiece.

Gilbert Arenas scored 30 points, Antawn Jamison added 21 and Caron Butler was the primary defender on James, who wasn’t the same after he got wrapped up by massive Wizards center Brendan Haywood in the first quarter.

“Actually, that wasn’t the plan going in,” Arenas said of Haywood’s hack. “Brendan just decided he was going to give a hard foul to let him know he was there. For some reason, that just threw him off a little bit.”

James got 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his playoff debut, but he played like a mere mortal in his second postseason game as a pro.

He finished with 26 points on 7-of-25 shooting, and matched his career high with 10 turnovers. James also made some mental errors, including a costly one late when he made an out-of-bounds save under his own basket that was picked off by Arenas for an easy layup.

The Wizards, who returned to Washington after Game 1 to regroup, came up with all the right adjustments and snatched away Cleveland’s home-court advantage.

“We destroyed ourselves in Game 1,” Arenas said. “So we decided to come out and play better basketball.”

The Wizards stopped James and also snapped Cleveland’s 12-game winning streak at home. Instead of double-teaming the 6-foot-8 James, who dissected them with passes to open teammates in Game 1, Washington coach Eddie Jordan let Butler and Jared Jeffries guard him with no assistance.

“They had a great scheme by playing me 1-on-1,” said James, whose 10 turnovers were a team playoff record. “I missed a lot of shots, layups that I usually make. They did a great job. I didn’t come to play.”

The series shifts to the Verizon Center for Game 3 in the best-of-seven series on Friday night.

Drew Gooden scored 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting and added 16 rebounds, and Larry Hughes had 16 points for the Cavaliers, who trailed 85-77 with 1:34 left following Arenas’ gift layup and free throw.

A free throw by James and two by Gooden got the Cavs within 85-80, and Cleveland was still alive when Arenas missed an ill-advised 3-pointer.

Hughes’ jumper made it 87-82, and James made two more free throws with 20 seconds left to pull Cleveland within three. Billy Thomas then missed a pair of free throws for Washington, and the Cavs looked as if they would get closer.

James rushed the ball up the floor, but instead of calling a timeout or trying a game-tying 3-pointer, he passed inside to a wide-open Anderson Varejao.

But as Cleveland’s backup center was gathering himself for a shot, Arenas slapped the ball away. Varejao fouled Jamison, who made two free throws to ice it as the Wizards bounced back to knot what is expected to be a long series.

Arenas wasn’t surprised James would pass up the shot.

“That’s what he does,” Arenas said. “He’s a playmaker. He makes great decisions out there.”

Getting nasty with James wasn’t on the Wizards’ drawing board, but it worked and they might as well stick with it.

“As long as it’s not flagrant,” Jordan said. “We’re not the toughest team in the NBA, but tonight we brought it out.”

Unable to slow James much in the opener, Washington decided to bang him around in the first half. The Wizards held him to just two points in the second quarter and Cleveland’s star went 17:40 between field goals.

At one point, Cavs coach Mike Brown sat his superstar for 2:15 of the second quarter. During a timeout, Zydrunas Ilgauskas offered some advice to James, who was just 2-for-9 with zero assists and four turnovers.

“I thought he still played great — 26 (points) and nine (rebounds). That’s a bad night for him?” Butler said. “That’s unbelievable.”

Down by 11 points early, the Wizards started to play rough with James. First, Jeffries wrapped him up on a drive and then Haywood committed a hard foul to stop another attack by James, who initially took exception to the second horse collar.

“Hard fouls are going to happen,” James said. “But that’s just playoff basketball.”

Notes

Jordan downplayed an encounter with a profane fan, who yelled at Washington’s coach as he left the floor at halftime. The Cavaliers released a statement saying they couldn’t establish what happened and pledged their support of Jordan. … James also had 10 turnovers on March 28, 2005, against New Orleans. … Mark Price had nine turnovers on April 29, 1995, in a playoff game against New York. … Brown, who led the club to 50 wins in his first year, received one first-place vote and finished eighth in coach of the year balloting won by Dallas’ Avery Johnson. “He deserves it,” Brown said. “A big-time coach, great team, terrific season. He’s one of the guys I would have voted for.” … Jordan is impressed by the giant Nike banner of James that hangs across from the arena. “It’s pretty intimidating, frankly, for a 51-year-old man like me,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s intimidating to Antawn or Gil or Jared, but it’s pretty intimidating to me. It happens to be right by the hotel where everybody stays.”

CLEVELAND (AP) — Hollywood arrived a few days ago as a film crew began shooting scenes for the next “Spiderman” sequel. On Saturday, East 9th Street was closed to accommodate the production.

One block away, nothing could stop the city’s resident superhero.

LeBron James soared.

Cleveland’s young star had a dazzling NBA playoff debut, making history with a triple-double in a 97-86 series opening win over the Washington Wizards, the Cavaliers’ first postseason victory since 1998.

In the biggest game of his budding career, James dominated, delivering an MVP-worthy performance before a towel-waving, title-famished Cleveland crowd of 20,562 that threatened to blow the roof off Quicken Loans Arena.

With 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, James became just the third player to get a triple-double in his first playoff game. Johnny McCarthy did it for the St. Louis Hawks in 1960. Magic Johnson did it for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980.

Twenty-six years later, the 21-year-old James got his.

“The only thing that surprised me, was that it took LeBron 48 minutes to do it,” Cavs guard Larry Hughes said Sunday. “He’s a special guy.”

To put it in context, Michael Jordan, the No. 23 to whom Cleveland’s No. 23 is often compared, had 23 points, four rebounds and 10 assists but lost his first playoff game for the Chicago Bulls.

Kobe Bryant’s debut? Two points.

Cleveland’s playoff opener was also the first on the opening weekend of the NBA’s second season. Cavs forward Donyell Marshall didn’t think that was a coincidence.

“A triple-double? That’s nothing new for him, and that’s no surprise to me,” he said. “My philosophy is that’s why the NBA put us on first, to see what LeBron would do.”

During a timeout after James outscored the Wizards 9-0 in the first quarter, members of the Cavs’ “Scream Team” ran onto the floor and began throwing black T-shirts with the word “Witness” printed on the front into the crowd.

Maybe they should have handed them out on the Washington bench, too.

The Wizards got to see James from all angles.

“Every bucket they got, every offensive rebound they got, it seemed like they were a result of him,” Washington’s Jared Jeffries said. “He controlled the whole game.”

Other than firing up an airball on his first shot, James had little trouble with the Wizards, whose primary game plan was to force the 6-foot-8 forward to dribble to his left — his weaker hand — and not let him get to the basket.

Oops. James had several layups, including one driving to his right with 4:44 that basically put the game out of reach.

Washington also attempted to double-team James, rushing a second defender at him when he crossed mid-court.

Double oops. James simply waited for the pressure and then calmly passed around or over the Wizards, usually finding Marshall (19 points, three 3-pointers) or Eric Snow (14 points) for wide-open jumpers.

At practice on Sunday, the Wizards, who returned to Washington following the game, began working on new schemes to try and slow James in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

“We’ll make some adjustments, but we have to do things better,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “He’s a terrific player and the more you play against him the more you understand how good he is.

“For the most part we have to force him to take more outside shots instead of driving to the basket. If we are going to double-team him, which there are times you have to, then we have to get out of the double team and rotate better to get to shooters.”

James isn’t too worried about what the Wizards might have in store.

“I’ve seen every defense possible,” he said. “Double-teams, triple-teams, box-and-one. There’s nothing I don’t know how to get around. I’m sure they’re going to try to do something, though.”

James would have had several more assists, but both Marshall and Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed easy layups. After one misfire underneath, James leveled a not-so-understanding glare at Marshall as they headed to the bench.

“It’s up to me to read the defense and try to make all my teammates do well,” James said. “I always like to pass. For one, you get two ‘oohs’ on the play — one on the pass and one on the bucket.”

Perhaps more impressive than any of his stats was that James came through with a heavy heart. On Friday, he attended the wake of Brenda Lewis Weems, his godmother, who died of cancer on April 15. She was just 45.

Weems’ son, Brandon, was a high school teammate of James at Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. James calls Brandon his “little brother.”

On a new pair of white-and-gold trimmed Nikes he broke out for the playoffs, James scrawled “Brenda RIP” on the tongues of his sneakers, a tribute to a woman he considered to be a second mother.

After the game, James quietly dressed with the inscribed shoes a few feet away.

“Say a prayer for her,” he said.